


The Softest Thunder

by crushmeshiro



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Galra Keith (Voltron), M/M, POV Shiro (Voltron), Pining Shiro (Voltron), purring Keith
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-14
Updated: 2018-06-14
Packaged: 2019-05-23 10:50:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,461
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14932833
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/crushmeshiro/pseuds/crushmeshiro
Summary: Shiro notices something different about Keith





	The Softest Thunder

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know why my phone wont let me post custom tags but I guess it gets the jist of it down.
> 
> I'm... not really a fic writer but Skai and I were talking about purring Keith and I had to do something...
> 
> Big thanks to rosegardenlake and carbonfootprint for helping me beta this and giving it a once over <3 they write awesome fics please check them out if you haven't!!
> 
> TIME FOR S6

Something was familiar about this.  
Even in this state of limbo, senseless apart from the semi-darkness that coated his vision he could... feel it; a gentle rumbling.

It felt comforting, and even in the haze and rising panic it lulled him back under into a gentle sleep.

\---

The first time Shiro noticed, it was back at the Garrison.

The Kerberos mission was still hush-hush, but Keith and his closest friends were, of course, the exceptions. There were still months of training and troubleshooting ahead, but Keith was supportive if not downright committed to encouraging him throughout the entire process. Always by his side, late into the night he would help Shiro with extra work and papers. Often times they’d both fall asleep, tangled up together on the floor on top of a substitute bed comprised of Galaxy Garrison watermarked paper sheets.

It was okay though. They were close enough that it was no big deal to spend the night and no one could deny that least of all himself (even though he tried his best to).

It was during one these nights when Shiro felt the tell-tale signs of Keith slumping slowly towards his side and shoulder. At one in the morning with only a few hours of sleep left ahead of them both, he automatically let Keith rest against him with no hesitation. Keith’s face was lax and soft against the cloth of his uniformed jacket when he heard it: a quiet humming. His first thought was that it must be some kind of engine out on the airfield. His second thought was why the hell would someone be out there at one o’clock in the morning during lights out.

Keith’s face gave a slight twitch and interrupted his thought process with a simple roll closer into the nook of his neck. It was there, Keith solid against him and simultaneously draped against his shoulder, that he realised it wasn’t some type of unregulated hovercraft; it was coming from Keith. And if he didn’t know any better (and back then he certainly didn’t) it… sounded a lot like a purr. He tried to look down at his friend’s face, but when he lowered his shoulder Keith truly nuzzled into his neck and Shiro did his best to hold in his initial reaction to jump ten feet back. Keith was purring - well, at least that was the closest thing he could compare it to.

He supposed, if anything, Keith had always been very cat-like as far as animal comparisons went. Piercing purple eyes (yes, purple eyes aren’t supposed to be a thing - he knew that, but dammit they were right there) that if he wasn’t mistaken, tended to reflect light in the dark a little more than what was considered normal; his sharp reflexes and agility alongside his fighting skills really iced the top of that comparative cake. It was stupid because he had come to accept and brush off all Keith’s little quirks over their years of friendship but this was something else entirely. It was… almost… cute.

Shiro carefully turned himself towards the other boy and guided him down lower onto one of the pillows circling them on the floor. His face radiated pure contentment. With no trademark scowl or the stitched-down brows that he’d been harboring recently, he really did look like he was, for once, truly happy.

Shiro shook himself out of his internal monologue with a vigorous eye rub. That was enough distraction for one evening and plenty more highlighting still to come.

Keith stayed there the rest of the night and not once did Shiro dare to wake him.

\--

Months passed. It became a regular occurrence whenever Keith stayed over, so much so that it became the new norm. And if he ever thought to himself when it was just the two of them that Keith probably had no idea that he did it in the first place, he’d be completely and entirely correct.

\--

Shiro’s eyes finally inch open only to find themselves surrounded in even more darkness. The difference this time, however, is a familiar warmth resting heavy on top of his chest. He lifts his left arm up out of a trap of blankets and feels out a mop of hair. He doesn’t know where he is yet, but for some reason he knows this and he weaves his hands through the loose knots and pulls everything closer to his heart.

\--

“Hmng…’Tashi…”

This time there’s light, soft and pink, and it’s filtering in through curtains above him that are rippling like he’s underwater. It should be alarming, but there’s so much about this place that screams home that he can’t seem to mind it.

The low humming is back and this time against his ear. He turns a very stiff neck towards it only to come face to face with someone who he never in a million years expected to see again. The face beside him is scrunched up deep in sleep. His eyebrows are pinched together and dried tears show up on the man’s cheeks like snail trails. He does know this place. He knows him.

Shiro starts to feel his heartbeat in his head. Panic is finally catching up to him and when he tries to move his body up and away, strong arms tether him back to where he was before.

“...Keith?”

“Hngmfg...”

Asleep.

The rumbling increases in volume until, slowly, Shiro’s anxiety starts to take a step back and his mind clears.

“Keith?” He stirs, and the grip around Shiro’s chest tightens and relaxes a few times almost imperceptibly. Shiro slides an arm up to cup Keith’s face and grazes his thumb across his cheek. There are smudges of red dirt on his chin and nose, and sand stuck in his eyebrows, but there’s no denying that it’s really him. He lets the rough pad of his thumb smooth over some of the stubborn salt water sticking underneath Keith’s lashes. His eyes crack open and Shiro can read the calm, confusion, and then relief flashing across them before Keith pulls him into a crushing hug.  
”

“Hey.”

He can feel the smile against him and the forced chuckle that follows filtering up through the dark hair in front of him. “Shiro, how-”

Shiro cuts him off before he can fully voice the question. He doesn’t want to talk about it right now. Keith picks up on the que and instead starts mumbling about something called Pidge, a table, spaceships, a cliff and when he’s done and finished there’s a comfortable silence between them.

\---

“It’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.”

\----

“So… I’m Galra.”

“That explains a lot.”

“Excuse me?”

Shiro gets a sharp jab aimed right at the center of his chest for that.

They’re finally back and safe in the castle ship. Their… “experience” with the Marmora had left a lot of questions stewing between Keith and the crew. Now that the initial shock had digested, Keith had shown up outside Shiro’s door just after lights out. They had both talked it all over on the trip back to the castle, but it had been very one-sided on Shiro’s part. When Keith had shown up fresh out of the med bay, in clean pajamas looking a little more at peace with himself than he had been for awhile, Shiro had been extremely relieved.

Keith is watching him now with large eyes as Shiro tries his best to hide a smile. “I mean, it explains the purring.”

“The what??”

“Umm… you know… the-” Shiro pauses at the look on Keith’s face. He’s blushing and looks about ready to demand an explanation forced out by fists instead of patience.

“You… Don’t know?”

“Shiro -”

“I thought you knew. You know, when… when you sleep you kind of… um, purr?”

Keith’s ears are going bright red.

“It’s actually kind of cute,”

There’s a loud slap as Keith brings both of his hands to his face in an attempt to shield himself from whatever is definitely happening right now. “Oh my god?”

Shiro moves over to him and tries to pry his hands away. Tactic unsuccessful, Shiro grabs him by the waist and pulls them both down onto the bed. He gathers Keith up in his arms and holds him close and tucked warm under his chin. They lie together like that for some time, with Keith in shock, and Shiro in quiet contentment before he starts to hear it. This time, Keith’s hand comes off into his own with ease, as he guides them both to rest against Keith’s neck. Keith stiffens when he realises that yes, there it is, a soft rumble just as Shiro said, before Shiro pipes up with a sleepy, “S’ok. I like it.”

**Author's Note:**

> Hi I had no idea what to title this hi I yell about sheith on Twitter a lot at @crushmeshiro


End file.
